Scottish pupils ‘need writing lessons’

Scotland's chief examiners want handwriting classes to be introduced because many pupils no longer know how to write longhand.

They have raised concerns that teenagers, brought up using e-mail and texting, have lost the ability to work with a pen and paper. They said that a large number of Higher English exam papers could not be marked because of illegible handwriting.

The Principal Assessors Report for 2007 said "markers are increasingly concerned about handwriting that is difficult to read" and called for dedicated classes for "candidates whose handwriting is seriously weak or known to become so under examination pressure".

Several private schools, including Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville junior school and Cargilfield prep school, both in Edinburgh, insist their pupils use fountain pens to develop longhand skills.

David Eaglesham, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, said poor handwriting was a growing problem but warned that calligraphy classes were